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...becomes...

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Don't forget to use a title for the spoiler! Kon dared to forget, and look what happened!

The following is based on [moyism]'s fantastic 1024x564 RAW, and references to Omni's summary on Random Curiosity, sola 02.

(Go figure, my computer hangs when I try to play 1024x564 .MKV files, but has no problem with the equivalent .AVI file)

Preliminary Thoughts on Ep02:
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Spoiler:

Background art remains pleasingly good in this episode. Some minor character deformities, but nothing that is detracting from the overall experience.
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Takeshi falls prey to the cliché where the "misunderstood" pursuer must spend time to explain things to the "well-intentioned" hero instead of shoving him aside and settling things straight away. Ergo, talk first, shoot later.
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Matsuri's powers are pretty nifty, but they also hint that she is a harbinger of ill. That, or she is cursed. Still, calling her the "Plague of the Night" is pretty ominous.
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Yorito takes a leaf out Yuuichi's handbook and brings back an unconscious Matsuri back home. That scene of him laying her down on his bed is screaming for out-of-context humour. It also reminds me of Kyon's dialogue in Ep00 where he asks the rhetorical question of why bring the girl to your own home instead of the hospital?

Of course, in sola, we have the reasonable issue of Matsuri not being Human, and her being in the hospital might only mean more problems for her.
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Funny scene where Matsuri offers to grant any one wish to Yorito and deduces from Yorito's stunned reaction that he must be thinking of something perverted. Hey, would anyone blame the guy? I wouldn't.
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"You will only end up hating me."

If that is not foreshadowing, I don't know what is.
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Aono has issues. Seems to be a little bit too needy for her brother's companionship. I just pray to all the anime gods that she is NOT a non-blood-related sibling. PLEASE, for the love of Aiur! Don't go down that route!
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Matsuri patting the bed to signal Yorito to lie down next to her reminded me of Rentarou in the first episode of "Futakoi Alternative".
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It kills me that they did not hold hands whilst on the bed.

Cheers.

The following is based on [Doremi]'s fansub, hence my "lateness" in making this post.

Random Thoughts on Ep02:

Several things went through my mind when Matsuri did that hang-time. From Michael Jordan to the song, "I Believe I Can Fly".
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I found it interesting that Takeshi is keeping Matsuri out of Mayuko's sight. Mayuko is well-aware of what Takeshi is hunting, so the most plausible reason to do so is because Mayuko knows Matsuri, but doesn't know that Matsuri is the "Night Plague".

That would be a rather interesting development, and an eventual explanation on the relationship between Matsuri and Mayuko would be welcomed.
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Where the heck does Takeshi sleep anyway? Or is it going to be one of those, "We leave it up to your imagination" kind of scenarios?
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Matsuri's power seems to be accelerated decay. If we tie this to her comment to Yorito (about eventually hating her), what if things around her passively decay at an accelerated rate (just not as fast as when she actively uses it)? It would befit her title of "Plague of the Night".

Continuing on that note, what if Matsuri's presence hastens Aono's condition? Making Aono closer to her death-bed would certainly trigger all sorts of angst in Yorito. His sister, or his potential lover.
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Also, what fuels Matsuri's immortality? In most storylines, short of being a God, immortality usually requires some sort of sacrifice. What if Matsuri requires the draining of lifespans to fuel her's?

I highly doubt there is no catch with her immortality. I will probably come back to this plot point in future episodes.
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I'm wondering why the previews are called previews.
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Going on a tangent here, but I have noticed from the ED and promotional artwork that Aono seems to get a lot of presence. I guess she is going to play an important role later on?

Yes, I am aware that [Doremi] chose "Calamity of the Night", but I prefer Omni's usage of "Plague of the Night" as it sounds more poetic, and rolls better on the tongue. Also, "Plague" has the ominous meaning of the European "Black Death" that wiped out around half or more of Europe's population. With Takeshi's grim tone in saying it, I feel "Plague" lends more weight to his description.

Finally watched the Lunar .avi, and I must say something; Lunar screwed up.
Take a look at the Episode 3 preview around 23:49, and you'll see what I mean. Ah well, guess I'll have to go onto their IRC board and inform them of the mistake.

Anyway, Episode 2 seems to go at a relaxed pace after the first few minutes of action at the beginning, and spends most of its time on character development. Most of what I would wish to say here is already said, though, so I'll not be a broken record.

Some observations:

1) Matsuri refers to herself as "ore".

Yes, one step higher on "Uguu~, boku Ayu". To quote Jason Miao of AoMM, "I don’t care anymore. Just shoot me. No way there’s a penis on this. None. I won’t accept it."

2) Aono sure is an attention whore. And she's the onee-chan here? She must have some serious issues.

3) I'm surprised Matsuri hasn't been taken in by the police for vandalism of public property yet.

4) The Takeshi-Mayuko duo sure is strange. Miss Goth-Loli is reduced to sleeping in a box, yet they apparently have the resources to dine at a fairly high-class restaurant? I thought the onigiri of the first episode meant they were on a tight budget here.

Well, all is said and done, so this one gets....an 8. Yeah, it should be okay.

isn't ore usually used for guys such as boku. If memory serve me well to my teen age...atashi and watashi are usually for girls unless they are being more assertive and only then they will use boku and ore...but to me Matsuri seems a little too girlish to have use that word...it destroys the cuteness.

Okay Takeshi is definetely this series Richter Belmont, especially with the Item Crash that sent Matsuri of the bridge. Matsuri also appears to be Spring Heeled Jack as well. Quite the action in the opening segments. Something just screams Akumajou Dracula about this series (Strange girls in gothic clothing, the power to age anything one touches to death, gothic settings, friends who may be more than they appear to be). Also the opening is quite nice. I had this labeled as a dating sim in the first episode and thought that the Richter Belmont scenes at the end of episode 1 were all we were going to get and then it would be Kanon for the umpteenth time for the next 12 or so episodes before we saw him again. Thankfully he's back and he's critical to the story, which now means at least 2, that's right 2 (Shocking for me) males play a critical role in the story. Huge plus, for me as now it kind of resembles the real world and not the Gerudo Desert World (See the Gerudo Tribe from Legend of Zelda), which seems to be the setting of most of these types of shows. I don't care where you are in Japan, but thankfully this series knows that girl don't outnumber guys 10:1.

Let me analyze the characters a touch.

Yorito: Seemingly Herioc and not a complete pushover. He's helped Matsuri out of two jams in the same crisis and hasn't relied on her seemingly tremendous power to see the day through. He's gotten right in there. Still he can't really hold his own against any of the girls. May have gotten taken down by a girl (Matsuri), but at least he tries. As of now has a girl walking around in his house trying to cook for him like any Harem Male Lead. Has the Gimp dialogue.

Matsuri: With that much power she could create tremendous havoc, but I have a feeling that she sees it more as a curse and refuses to use it unless absolutely necessary. I wouldn't be surprised if she has a no-kill policy because of something that might have happened in her past. Also "Is there anything else you want me to do? I'll do anything I'm able to" (Whoa too fast girl to fast) . Not only that, but immediately after you send the signals you call him a pervert. Enjoys kicking things when they don't work (Russian Start Up). IS NOT HUMAN (AH!). Older than my grandmother and apparently immortal. Dangerous person, I think so! Has the Harem dialogue.

Richter Belmont: He's obviously out for Matsuri, but we don't know quite why yet. We do know that he's dead serious on killing her though as he has not pulled any punches in his pursuit of her. Has the One Piece dialogue. Also seems to have walked out of another anime, but is more than welcome to stay and keep things less girlish. Whoever made the decision to include this character deserves credit for bucking the trend.

Mana: Overcontrolling friend and Loli abuser. Apparently says hello twice when entering her place of work. Has the Mistress dialogue.

Aono(mi) (Rei): A wall. Has the Wall Dialogue. Those occasional sounds you hear are just the wind rustling through her. Apparently mobile as it plays the guilt trip card on Yorito to get him to come or else it will go home. Pretty much unredeemable character who I think he series would be better off without (Boring, Bitchy, Pointless, Interrupts good plot and character moments with her antics, a detriment overall).

Koyori: Impossibly cutesy and polite little girl who has the patience of a saint in looking out for the miserable wall that is Aono. Has the Loli Dialogue and makes me feel kind of funny.

Maria Renard Loli Edition: Sleeps in a box and seems very upset with Richter (possibly for when he was briefly evil, see Castlevania Symphony of The Night).Doesn't have much dialogue, but has a certain charm. Has the Lolidom dialogue.

About the music: Very soothing music, which is a huge change from the usual music you get in these series, which has me on edge (it's irritating). This has more of a Chrono Cross type feel to it (My all time favourite Squaresoft sound track for its calming Fisher Village/relaxing tracks).

Overall: Very good showing from this former(?) Key writer. If this is indeed the person who wrote Kanon, he has improved tremendously. This series staves off the typical antics and moe driven episodes that plague the early parts of Kanon and other such stories, and goes for real character development and a plot that raises questions you want to stick around to have answered. A rarity with genuine quality and intrigue that does not come often in this genre Easily the most surprising series of the summer for me and I think I'm going to give this episode an 8.

I don't care where you are in Japan, but thankfully this series knows that girl don't outnumber guys 10:1.

Nope, only 4:1.

Quote:

Mana: Apparently says hello twice when entering her place of work.

Yeah, that is a bit strange. Possibly an editing gaff. But what I just noticed is that Doremi subtitled this as "Good morning!" Uh.... it's night time.

Quote:

Overall: Very good showing from this former(?) Key writer. If this is indeed the person who wrote Kanon, he has improved tremendously.

Half of Kanon. Hisaya wrote ... bah, can't find it now, but I know he wrote Shiori and two others, I think Mai and Nayuki. Maeda did the rest. And this is the game, of course, I don't think they were directly involved with the television scripts.

~
Half of Kanon. Hisaya wrote ... bah, can't find it now, but I know he wrote Shiori and two others, I think Mai and Nayuki. Maeda did the rest. And this is the game, of course, I don't think they were directly involved with the television scripts.
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He aided Maeda in the scripting for the three "happiest" stories in Kanon. Nayuki, Ayu and Shiori. Maeda was the one who solely did the two "bleakest" stories in Kanon, Mai and Makoto.

Yeah, that is a bit strange. Possibly an editing gaff. But what I just noticed is that Doremi subtitled this as "Good morning!" Uh.... it's night time.

Half of Kanon. Hisaya wrote ... bah, can't find it now, but I know he wrote Shiori and two others, I think Mai and Nayuki. Maeda did the rest. And this is the game, of course, I don't think they were directly involved with the television scripts.

You'll get plenty of moe in episodes 3, 4, and the first half of 5.

Hmmm, well Shiori and Mai are the only interesting stories I've found, even if the Mai character is somewhat dry. Nayuki, I like the character design, but the stories just passable so she can go either way to be honest. Ayu and Makoto are kind of bleh. Honestly, I think this Hisaya fellow was the better half of the team if this is the case. It doesn't surprise me if he did in fact do Mai though as that's the most action I've seen in Kanon so far and sola has quite a bit of action in these first two episodes (for the type of series it is).

edit: Oops apparently he only aided this Maeda with Shiori, Ayu and Nayuki. Hmmm. 1.5/3 good stories vs. 1/2. So they are about equal, but I still prefer sola to Kanon any day.

Okay let me try again, Yoshiyuki Tomino's Victory Gundam was an incredibly depressing and bleak look at the future of the Universal Century, which made the future beyond even that seem utterly hopeless and doomed to an endless cycle of war. 6 years later Yoshiyuki Tomino returned to Gundam with Turn A Gundam and you would hardly believe the same man was at the helm, because it ended with everybody, but one character finding peace and happiness and the future looked incredibly hopeful for the Earthrace and Moonrace. So the experiences a writer/director has as well the changes in his/her outlook on the world can have a tremendous effect on their work in a short amount of time.

Okay let me try again, Yoshiyuki Tomino's Victory Gundam was an incredibly depressing and bleak look at the future of the Universal Century, which made the future beyond even that seem utterly hopeless and doomed to an endless cycle of war. 6 years later Yoshiyuki Tomino returned to Gundam with Turn A Gundam and you would hardly believe the same man was at the helm, because it ended with everybody, but one character finding peace and happiness and the future looked incredibly hopeful for the Earthrace and Moonrace. So the experiences a writer/director has as well the changes in his/her outlook on the world can have a tremendous effect on their work in a short amount of time.

Precisely!!! Which is why AIR has been considered by many to be better than Kanon, and CLANNAD in turn has been considered better than the both of them, and why you said yourself that Sola is better than...

Wait. What are we doing?! We're arguing the same point here! >_< *slaps head*